Please pray for strength today, I am not feeling well and have some pain but have a big work day ahead that I have to do. Thank you.

"A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side." Luke 10

Trying to stay pure and obey the law, and yet missing the point of the law.

Let's not judge the priest and Levite so quickly. wouldn't we do the same?

The election of Pope Leo XIV earlier this month has — at least according to Google search data — has led to a renewed interest in people searching for information on how to ‘become Catholic.’
A young woman is baptized at the Easter vigil 2024 at St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M. (photo: Courtesy of St. Mary’s Catholic Center, Texas A&M)

The election of Pope Leo XIV earlier this month has — at least according to Google search data — led to a renewed interest in people searching for information on how to “become Catholic.”

This follows several years of anecdotal reports of a surge of people joining the Catholic Church, especially among young people, across many dioceses in numerous countries.

The Catholic Church’s requirements to join may seem, at first, to be complicated. The process involves some important rites of initiation as well as spiritual preparation, fellowship with other Catholics and prospective Catholics, and instruction in the teachings of the faith.

Here’s a guide to becoming Catholic in 2025.

1) Are you baptized?

Continued below.

A large crowd of protesters gathered outside Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa on Friday afternoon after local officials rumored a possible vacation visit from Vice President JD Vance.

Orange County officials received intel of the VP’s visit to the area on Thursday. In an interview with KTLA 5, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said the VP’s visit “comes at a time when trust in government feels fragile.”

The Santanero, a local Santa Ana newspaper, reported that Air Force 2 landed at John Wayne Airport on Friday shortly after 5 p.m. It was not immediately confirmed whether Vance was on the aircraft on official business following his latest visit to California when he attended a $2,500-per-seat conservative event at a high-end sushi restaurant in San Diego.

Neither a weekend schedule nor fundraising event were posted by the vice president’s office, which has led to speculation that Vance might be on a family vacation. Online footage began to circulate of a C-17 motorcade entering the Disneyland Park in Anaheim.

“I would tell [Vance] to go home,” one protestor told Fox 11. “We don’t want him here.”

[Vance is about as popular as Nikita Khrushchev in California.]

YouTuber Matt Desmond posted a short video to his channel, DisneyScoopGuy, Saturday morning of Vance and two of his children at Disneyland walking through the park and riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

[How could he stand to be on such a WOKE ride, having erased all memory of the Song of the South?]

Obviously this particular source has a bias, but I think some of the data points are still worth discussing given that there are still proposals out there for rent control.


Rental listings in Buenos Aires increased by 180% after Milei repealed rent control laws.
Real (inflation-adjusted) rents fell by 40% year-over-year following deregulation.
Property sales transactions in Buenos Aires exceeded 2023 levels by 35% in early 2024.
Mortgage-backed home sales in Buenos Aires tripled in 2024 compared to 2023.

I've noted before that rent controls are one of the few areas where economists from across the spectrum seem to be in agreement (Paul Krugman, Thomas Sowell, and Milton Friedman have all criticized the practice)

Is it time we start thinking about doing the same here in some cities where rent control has been grandfathered in?

Given the fact that in many of the US cities where these policies are still in play:
- a disproportionate number are occupied by affluent tenants (who've lived their for a long time, and their financial situation has changed quite a bit since they initially moved in decades ago)
- about 1 in 4 landlords leave the controlled units vacant, as there's no real incentive to rent it out since repairs and appliance replacements can exceed what they'd make on rent
- a substantial number of them get passed from family down to other family members, so it's still boxing a lot of people out of being able to take advantage of them

As reported in America magazine (Link), Pope Leo XIV is not sitting idle while on his Castel Gandalfo vacation. According to Augustinian Father Alejandro Moral Antón, a longtime friend, Pope Leo plans to draft the framework of his first encyclical during his vacation break, possibly touching on peace, unity or artificial intelligence. “I know he will begin work on his first encyclical.” ​

​

Asked whether the title is known yet, the cleric replied: “I don’t think so, the other day he just told me that he will use these two weeks to develop the main structure of the text. Obviously, he is already working on it, but he is forced to do it in the evening or in spare moments and would need more time, which will happen during the vacation.”​

​

Regarding the encyclical’s topic, Father MoraI said: “I can imagine it will be something related to the concepts evoked since the first hours of his election. The theme of peace, social doctrine, unity, artificial intelligence. But these are just my deductions.”​

Continued below.

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2:39

It won't be in Rio de Janeiro or Bolivia or Colombia. The largest statue of Christ in the world will be in Madrid by 2030. A whopping 37-meter-tall sculpture is expected to be built in Spain, and the project is being led by Javier Viver

5-7-5 syllable format

Example:

Bow down to the king

My Lord and savior Jesus

Who reigns for all time

At present I am in a thread about the early church and happen to be researching on how the early church transitioned from the Jewish Temple and synagouges to the Christ church we know in some part today.

I dwned on me how vital Paul was in this transition to the Gentiles and how this related to the new covenant of Christ for the church and how this was a fullfillement of the old covenant.

In some ways Paul was the practical instrument that Christ used to teach this transition to the Jews and also to teach to the Gentiles how this was the fullfillment of the Jews. A sticky situation right in the middle of both sides.

Up until Pentecost and even until Paul this was a Jewish religion being fullfilled. There was no thought of Gentiles and it was strict Judaism. But after Paul we have a situation where the church is being open to the Gentiles but still heavily influennced and directed by Jewish tradition.

Paul is in both camps and teaching that circumcision and other rituals are not necessary while at the same time adhering when necessary. So the Jewish factor was still there. In fact from what I have discovered the Jewish factor was there for a very long time and in many ways Christian worship is premised on Jewish worship but modified.

Such as the prophesies of the old testament that the Gentiles would become a pure sacrifice replacing the animal sacrifice. The breaking of bread becoming a participation in Christs sacrifice in bring ourselves to the alter as a sacrifice to God imitating Christ. Paul in this sense seen himself fullfilling the old testament priesthood.

Because of the grace given me by God, [I am] a minister (λειτουργός, [leitourgos]) of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service (ἱερουργοῦντα [hierourgounta], literally serving as a priest, i.e. sacerdos) of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:16).

So in some ways though Peter was the Rock on which Christ build His church I think Paul was the Rock on which the fullfillment of GOds covenent to Abraham in while all nations (Gentiles) would become part of Christ church.

I think this is captured in that Peter and Paul were both executed in Rome by the decree of Emperor Nero. Two great men parting the church leaving it to the world. But their influence was enough to establish Christ church as He instructed that would never be defeated by Hades.

Jesus Christ, when he lived on the earth, was fully God and fully human (God incarnate), but without sin. He who is the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – left his throne in heaven, came to earth, and was born as a human baby to a virgin woman of God, but conceived of the Holy Spirit, and thus he was not born with a sin nature as we are. He grew to manhood, and in the last few years of his life he, along with his 12 disciples, spread the message of the gospel of our salvation to the people.

But he was hated by many of his people, many of whom were people of importance, prestige, and/or authority in the temple of God. A group of them followed him around, continually accusing him of things he did not do, looking for ways to trip him up with his words in order to accuse him, so that the people would not listen to him. For they were jealous of him and of his temporary popularity among the people, and they were threatened by him, worried that their own positions of authority might be compromised.

His opponents, though, were so bent on destroying his life that they did not give up, but they continued to accuse him falsely and to try to do everything they could to discredit him and his ministry. And eventually they plotted and carried out his death on a cross, hoping to get rid of him for good. But that backfired on them, for in Jesus’ death, he put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we will now die to sin and obey our Lord. And then Jesus rose from the dead, ascended back to heaven, and sent us the Holy Spirit to continue his work in the hearts of those who believed on the Lord.

And so the gospel of our salvation continued to spread among the people. And many people came to faith in Jesus Christ whose lives were also committed to serving him with their lives, because of what Jesus did for us on that cross, and because in his resurrection he conquered sin and death on our behalf so that, by faith in him, we will now live godly and holy lives, pleasing to our Lord, and so we will no longer walk in sin, living to please our flesh and not God. His enemies intended to destroy him and his messages, but God had another purpose in mind. And many people were saved.

Now, when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, to be Lord of our lives, and so we have died with him to sin, and we are now walking with him in obedience to his commands, in holy living, and so we are serving him with our lives in the areas of ministry to which he called us, we are going to be opposed as Jesus was. We will have people who will make it their aim to try to accuse us falsely of what we did not do, and to try to trip us up with our words, because they don’t want people to hear the truth of the gospel.

But despite how we are treated, we must continue in spreading the truth of the gospel and in sharing the truth of what the Scriptures teach about what it means to believe in Jesus. Because we love people with the love of God, we want to see them believe in Jesus, to die to their sins, and to now live for God in walks of obedience to his commands, that they might have salvation (deliverance from addiction to sin) and the hope of eternal life with God. In that way we are having the same attitude as Jesus had, out of love for us.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Just a Closer Walk with Thee

Hymn lyrics by Anonymous/Unknown
Music by American Melody

“For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you” (2 Co. 13:4 NASB).

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

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The Attitude of Christ
An Original Work / July 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Priests in the last remaining Christian town in the West Bank have called for an "immediate and transparent investigation" following a series of alleged attacks by Jewish settlers in Taybeh, including a fire set near an ancient Christian cemetery and the ruins of the Church of St. George.

In a statement shared this week by Independent Catholic News, the heads of the Greek Orthodox Church, Latin Church and Melkite Greek Catholic Church stated that the assaults "threaten the security and stability of our town" and "aim at undermining the dignity of its residents and the sanctity of its sacred land."

The three priests — Father Dawood Khoury, Father Jacques-Noble Abed and Father Bishara Fawaz — condemned the fires set near Taybeh's cemetery and the church, an event that occurred on July 7.

Continued below.

What should “encouragement in Christ” look like? How did Jesus and his New Testament apostles encourage the followers of Christ of their day? And how do the Scriptures encourage us who believe in Jesus today? For those who have died with Christ to sin, and who are walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commandments, who are in genuine fellowship with Christ, doing his will, they were and we are encouraged to keep pressing forward, to keep obeying the Lord, to keep resisting the devil, and to remain strong in faith.

Those who were still making sin their practice, still holding on to some of their old sinful habits, who were not walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, but who were living immoral and ungodly lives, who were treating others with hate, and who were being hypocritical by presenting one image outwardly while they were, instead, living in sin and for self, they were and are encouraged to put those sins to death, to repent, and to obey God with their lives in faithful surrender to the will of God for their lives.

And what is consolation of love? Well, consolation is encouragement, but it is also exhortation, an appeal, a strong urging, counsel, or caution. And love (agápē) centers in moral preference and refers to what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful and obedient to God and to his commands. So this isn’t about lying to people to make them feel good while they go on living in sin. This is about loving people enough to tell them the truth which can save their souls from hell.

And what is fellowship of the Spirit? The word is koinónia, and it means sharing, contribution, participation, cooperation and partnership with the Spirit in the work of God in our lives, in obedience and in submission to the Lord. So this involves us dying with Christ to sin and walking in obedience to his commands in living our lives to please God and no longer to live to please the sinful desires of our flesh. And all Christian affection and compassion should then be a result of this, in agreement with God.

And what does that look like if we are “being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose”? Well, the “same mind” is the mind of Christ (of God) and of the teachings of the Scriptures, taught in their appropriate context. And the same love is agápē, which centers in moral preference, and which prefers all that God prefers. And the one purpose is the purpose that God has for our lives, that we should die to sin and obey God and walk in holiness and righteousness, no longer in sin.

And if that is how we are living, in truth, with purpose, then we will not be those who are selfish and self-centered who care only for ourselves and for what we want, regardless of how that impacts other people. But we will be those who love God and our fellows humans enough to tell them the truth of what the Scriptures teach, even knowing that we will be hated and rejected in return. For we put the true needs of others above our own needs, and we love as Jesus loves, even willing to die to see others go free from their sin.

[Proverbs 24:17-20; Proverbs 25:21-22; Matthew 5:8-12,43-48; Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:27-36; Luke 10:27; John 13:33-35; John 15:12; Romans 12:9-11,14-21; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8; 1 Corinthians 16:14; 1 John 4:7]

Refiner’s Fire

By Brian Doerksen

Purify my heart,
let me be as gold and precious silver.
Purify my heart,
let me be as gold, pure gold.

Purify my heart,
cleanse me from within
and make me holy.
Purify my heart,
cleanse me from my sin, deep within.

Refiner's fire,
my heart's one desire
is to be holy;
set apart for You, Lord.
I choose to be holy;
set apart for You, my Master,
ready to do Your will.

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Intent on One Purpose
An Original Work / July 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

What is the new Pope's position on church reforms? The German Cardinal Reinhard Marx is of the opinion that Leo XIV is quite open in many respects, including celibacy.








Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx believes that the new Pope may be able to relax celibacy requirements. "First of all, it's about positively evaluating and protecting celibacy as a way of life," Marx said in an interview with the "Münchner Merkur" and "tz" (Saturday). He added: "But should the priesthood be limited to celibate men? Do we really see all the vocations God gives us? Or are we blocking ourselves here?" The door to this discussion is not closed, Marx said; and: "I don't think Pope Leo is completely set in his ways on this. He has basic experience, especially in Latin America."

When asked whether the Pope could allow different speeds in the implementation of reforms, Marx said: "I think he's open to it for now." There are many expectations. "Some in Germany think we would introduce a kind of church assembly like a parliament or a democracy," Marx said. Others would prefer to return to the past and forget everything about the Synodal Path. Marx: "I don't see either. We have a structure of the Church in which the Bishops bear a special responsibility. That won't be abolished."

The cardinal added: "But we need more synodality; that is, the inclusion of everyone in the service of the Church. How we can organize that is open." For many in the universal Church, this is new territory. He sees Munich-Freising on the right track. "If, as Archbishop, I do not identify any serious problems in theological and pastoral questions, then I am prepared to follow a recommendation from our Synodal body passed by a two-thirds majority," Marx said. But: "What Rome would rather not have – and I am skeptical about this too – is a national body that dictates to me as Bishop and to us in the Archdiocese what we should do."

Continued below.

Many cabins and buildings at the camp were already at a higher risk of flooding than previously indicated by FEMA's maps, according to an analysis by NPR, PBS's FRONTLINE and data scientists. More than two dozen campers and counselors, along with the camp's owner, Dick Eastland, died in the flash floods that swept the camp on July 4.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paige Sumner, a former camper and friend of Eastland, wrote in Kerrville Daily Times that Eastland "was the father figure to all of us" during summers at the camp.

"It doesn’t surprise me at all that his last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save the lives of campers," Sumner wrote. "He had already saved so many lives with the gift of Camp Mystic."

​

Friar Clodovis Boff belongs to the Order of the Servants of Mary. | Credit: Lennoazevedo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Friar Clodovis Boff has written an open letter to the bishops of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops’ Council (CELAM, by its Spanish acronym), who recently met in assembly, asking: “What good news did I read there? Forgive my frankness: None. You, bishops of CELAM, always repeat the same old story: social issues, social issues, and social issues. And this has been going on for more than fifty years.”

“Dear older brothers, don’t you see that this music is getting old?” asked the priest who belongs to the Order of the Servants of Mary (Servites), in reaction to the final document of the 40th Ordinary General Assembly of CELAM, held at the end of May in the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"When will you give us good news about God, Christ, and his Spirit? About grace and salvation? About conversion of heart and meditating on the Word? About prayer and adoration, devotion to the Mother of the Lord, and other such themes? In short, when will you send us a truly religious, spiritual message?"

Clodovis Boff, along with his brother Leonardo Boff, was one of the most important philosophers of liberation theology. However, in 2007, he published the article "Liberation Theology and Return to the Fundamentals" in the 68th issue of the Brazilian Ecclesiastical Review.

Continued below.

delete

Go here to read the story. I assume their intentions are good, but honors by a church that Saint Thomas More died rather than bow to, is such a misunderstanding of what Saint Thomas More was about as to boggle the mind.

Anglican Misplaced Desire to Honor a Catholic Saint?

That the Bible is the word of God, that Jesus is God in the flesh.

Now when it comes to salvation, or any other topic what can all Christians agree on?

Hi. I have been directed here and it does seem to be an appropriate place.
My question is "What makes you certain that what you believe is true?

Now, I am not antagonistic, it's a genuine question from someone who has experienced something that has made him question his beliefs.
I am not at all into the "happy clappy" hero worship God thing, Almost everything about the church experience turns me off... BUT!
I experienced something in a church, on my own, while very drunk and in a dire state that I cannot either explain nor fully accept happened.

So, why are you certain? What, outside of growing up indoctrinated, made you say "Yes, I believe this is true?"

We are in the process of getting ready to spend some time in Bangladesh.
My wife brought it up last week.
I told her we needed to agree and that I needed a confirmation.
Last Sabbath I asked for prayer and within minutes I got a confirmation.
The Holy Spirit prompted me to remember a vision I had when I was about 4;
I was flying at night above mountains,
In the distance I saw a glow and when we were above it I could see that the glow was coming from inside a mountain,
Inside the mountain there was a chamber filled with gems.

When I turned 50 I was about to interpret for a foreign pastor during a missionary service.
Before it was time to participate, the Holy Spirit told me that he would tell me the meaning of the vision.
He gave me a verse; where your treasure is, there your heart shall be.
I then told the congregation that as long as they supported overseas missions, they would be blessed.

Last year we had a retreat at a state park. Inside the cabin we shared we saw a video testimony of a young man that was called to the mission field.
I felt impacted by the testimony and I identified with the message.
I was in tears as I told them that we wanted to serve.

Now, we have just sent in our passport renewal paperwork, we should get them in a few months.
The most important step is that of securing a visa to Bangladesh as these are very hard to get.
We have a family member that obtained a five-year visa, a friend of his tried but only got one for a few months.
We are set up financially to pay our way and be there as volunteers.
We hope to be there for six months and return, we know that God can open doors according to his purpose, we pray that will follow through.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to follow his example in being his witnesses. So we are to be the salt of the earth, and the light of the world, and the people of God who proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness (sin) into his marvelous light (the gospel, righteousness, truth, obedience to God). And under the authority of God we are to go and make disciples of Christ of people of all nations, baptizing (where possible), and teaching them to obey our Lord’s New Covenant commandments.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Eph 5:11-14; 1 Pet 2:21,29; 1 John 2:6]


For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross to deliver us out of our slavery (addiction) to sin, so that we will now serve him with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands, in surrender to his will and purpose for our lives. And having been saved by his grace, and delivered from our bondage to sin, and having been given forgiveness and the hope of heaven when we die (provided we continue in these walks of faith in obedience to our Lord), we will want to share the truth of the gospel with other people.

For we care about other humans, we love them with the love of Christ, and so we share with them the truth. And we refute the lies of Satan so that many will come to genuine biblical God-provided faith in the Lord Jesus, and will leave their lives of sin behind them, and will follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. Thus, they can now walk in victory over sin, and can live holy lives, pleasing to God, and so God can use them in other people’s lives to share with them the gospel, for their salvation from sin.

And this is why I am here on the internet sharing with the people of the world what the Lord is teaching me from his word each day. I am here out of obedience to my Lord and to his calling on my life in saying what he gives me to say, not only as testimony to what he is doing in my life, but for the salvation of human lives from their bondage to sin so that, by the grace of God, they can now walk in freedom from sin in surrender to God’s will and purpose for their lives.. and to encourage all in their walks of faith in Christ.

And as far as healing goes, God does gift certain people with gifts of healings, and not all these gifts are related to physical healing of physical diseases or to physical impairments. People need spiritual healing the most, and then there is emotional healing, and healing of the minds and the hearts of people which get damaged from birth to death by various means and circumstances. But we should use the Scriptures and not human philosophy in order to bring healing to people, for God is truly the one who heals.

Seek the Lord

Based off Isaiah 55
Musical Instrumentation by Mark Bradley
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”

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Proclaiming the Gospel of The Kingdom
An Original Work / July 12, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Whither the “Harmful Spirit?”

There are stories in the Bible whose main plot is given the most attention but missing are the details behind the plots. For example, a lot of people are familiar with the Biblical story of “David and Goliath,” but are they familiar with the events leading up to that famous encounter between the two, which has fostering ideas including the size of a person may not necessarily make him a victor in a fight with a much smaller person? And where does the “Harmful Spirit” fit in? Well, here’s the story behind the story.

It starts in 1 Samuel 15:1 in the OT. In those days, the Philistines were a massive headache to the people of Israel. Do things like this ever change with the people Israel? Anyway, as told in 1 Samuel 15, the Lord says to Samuel to go to Saul and tell him God has anointed Saul King over Israel. Samuel further says to Saul that God wants him to annihilate the Amalekites, who had tormented the Hebrews on their way to Israel in their 40-year journey from Egypt. Samuel says that God wants nothing left, not “man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey,” as it says in 1 Samuel 15:3.

So, Saul defeats the Amalekites, but contrary to God’s command, Saul spares its King and takes alive “the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good,” not destroying them, according to 1 Samuel 15:9.

In Verse 10, God tells Samuel He regrets having made Saul King since Saul, by sparing the animals mentioned above, has disobeyed him. In subsequent Verses Samuel conveys this message to Saul, and he also essentially tells Saul that God has fired him as King of Israel.

What follows in Chapter 16 is a tie-in that eventually leads to David’s fight with Goliath. In 1 Samuel 16:14–17, God sends a “harmful spirit” to torment Saul. Saul’s servants, seeing this, tells Saul that a man who is “skillful in playing the lyre” will make Saul well when he plays it. Saul tells his servants to provide such a man. The man happens to be David. Not only that, but before David appears to Saul, David in 1 Samuel 16:12 is anointed the new King of Israel by God, and Saul doesn’t know this; neither do most of Israel’s people.

So, when David appears before Saul and plays his lyre, Saul is made well and he keeps David by his side, not knowing that he’s keeping by his side his own replacement.

Shortly thereafter, in Chapter 17, Goliath issues his challenge to Saul to send one man alone against Goliath to fight him. David, knowing he has Saul’s ear, convinces Saul to let him fight Goliath. Saul, convinced, says ‘OK, go,’ and the rest is history.

Would David have known of the challenge if he wasn’t in Saul’s company? Who knows? But in Chapter 18, Saul becomes jealous of David who is glorified by the Israelis, to the point where he tries to kill David with a spear. But the Harmful Spirit appears again in 1 Samuel 18:10, causing Saul to rave within his house. With the presence of the Harmful Spirit, though, Saul misses and he realizes at that point that God is with David and He had departed from Saul.

Too make a long story short, after a number of interceding events including battles involving David, in 2 Samuel 5:1–3 David is anointed King by the people of Israel. All things considered, it seems the “Harmful Spirit” was harmful only to Saul.

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